For an hour they moved through the forest easily. Neither Walker spoke but if she stopped they stopped and waited for her, being courteous where they could. Finally, she began to hear human noise once more and as the Walkers pushed through a final set of branches she saw a large clearing she had never found before. “There he is,” her guides nodded and she looked into the camp of the Walkers.
There were about twenty of them she saw in the clearing. Old and young alike although she saw no children for the youngest seemed a few years older than her. Tents were placed on the ground, in groups of three and small fires burned cooking meat on spits that smelt delicious. Her mouth watered as they led her further into the large clearing and as they walked she saw the Walkers stop and watch her pass.
The old man who had come to the village knelt on the ground she saw, next to a young woman that lay under a blanket. “Pyter,” The old man looked up as one of her escorts called out. “The healer sends his daughter in his stead.”
Pyter nodded and stood. Facing him Alice felt a shiver for he was bigger up close than he had seemed in the village. He stood a good head over her and as he looked at her with a piercing gaze she thought of wolves and dark nights. “So, Westerholt would not allow their healer to come so he sent you in his stead. Tell me, girl, why are you here?”
“I came because my father sent me sir.” She mumbled it and he shook his head. Long dark hair showered over his shoulders and he scowled.
“Are you not afraid of us? That we will steal your soul girl,” The others around the camp laughed and she felt the laugh sting. Her face went red and she felt a surge of anger that they should laugh at her after she had made this journey to help them.
“My father told me you different to us but not evil. He said being different is not enough to be fearful. I would have hoped that if you were the same as us, you would have had better manners!” She snapped it and then realizing what she said she went white but the old man laughed louder.
“You have spirit girl. I could tell that when I first saw you.” He smiled then and it was sorrowful. “Tell me, did your father find a cure for your mother?”
“No, sir. She died twelve years ago.” She looked to the floor as a sorrow she was well used to washed over her and felt a hand on her shoulder.
“It is a grave thing to lose a parent.” He said it softly, “And equally grave to lose a child. Please, see what you can do for my daughter.” He moved out the way and she nodded.
“My father taught me well, I will do everything I can I promise.” Walking towards the young woman on the floor she saw her properly for the first time. She caught the pained expression on a face that was both beautiful and pinched, saw the wound on her arm that was ragged and red. Then she saw the long dark hair that framed the young woman’s face like the night, black as a raven’s wing apart from one long streak of silver that ran the entire length of her hair.
She gasped and Pyter’s voice echoed silently behind her. “Is there anything wrong healer?” he asked and she took a deep breath as the woman’s leaf green eyes pierced her own.
“No,” Alice whispered as her heart beat madly, “Your daughter just reminded me of a friend I lost long ago.”
Chapter 6
It must be a coincidence, a joke played on me by the gods. Staring at the young woman who lay on the bedroll she could not help but hear a small wolfs howl in her memories. As if she had heard, the young woman let out a small whimper of pain, her brow covered in beads of sweat and Alice blinked, brought back by the sound. Looking at her patient's arm she saw red soaking through a bandage that looked inexpertly done.
“Please, do your work. Help my daughter.” The patriarch of the Walker family stood behind her still and she nodded. Her mind was already falling back into patterns that had been taught to her by her own father. Without turning she said, “I will need some fresh water, boiled if possible,” and then she walked towards her patient.
Wearing a gentle smile she sat down by the young woman’s side. “Hi, I’m Alice. I’ve come to try and ease your pain if you will let me.” She spoke out loud but she did not bother looking at anything but the bandaged arm. Already she began to make a list of what herbs she would need and hoped her father had placed them in the satchel. Finally, she looked up at the young woman and saw the bright green eyes staring at her. “I will have to examine your wound though. I promise I will be as gentle as I can be ok?”
She saw a nod, the jerking head motion sending the long dark hair rustling but the green eyes that stared at her were full with fear. Gently Alice began to un-wrap the bandage, pulling it gently when the blood caused it to stick and as she did she smelt the sickly smell of infection. “So what is your name? If I am to talk to you, it would be nice to be introduced yes?”
“Sasha,” she heard the young woman whisper and as Alice pulled off the last of the bandage she saw the extent of the wound. Her arm was gored, skin and flesh split by some sharp implement and the wound was deep. “Well Sasha,” she said whilst still examining the wound, “I don’t think you will lose the arm but if I am to save it, it will be painful. I am sorry.” As she spoke she saw blood seeping from the wound still and knew she would have to hurry with her work.
A pot of boiling water was placed by her side and she heard Pyter’s voice. “Do what you need to. Sasha is brave, she will bear the pain.” Looking at the young woman she saw the long night dark tresses move as she nodded and Alice smiled gently.
“Then let’s get to work shall we.”Whilst the boiled water cooled to a more manageable temperature Alice tore some cloth into strips. With each strip she placed it into the cooling water, letting the warmth soak into it and then when it was cool enough, she began to work.
Taking a strip Alice pulled it out of the water, and then with a steady hand, she began to clean Sasha’s wound. As she did she saw the young woman bite her lips, hard enough to draw blood and shook her head. “So Sasha, what happened to you? I have lived near this forest all my life and I have never seen a wound like this. I did not think there was anything dangerous enough here to do anything like this.”
The young woman looked at her, her green eyes shining and Alice watched as she shook her head. “I was bitten by a dog far from here and it wounded me before I could fight it off. Father knew of a good healer and he brought us here. That is all.”Then she moaned as the linen cleaned the bite wound of blood, material hitting nerves that were now open to the environment.
I’ve seen dog bites, and this is not one. Alice frowned as she concentrated on her job. “Please, Sasha, I am your healer. Anything you say will be in the strictest confidence I promise you. This is not a dog bite. This looks more like a knife wound. Did someone attack you?”
She saw her patient’s eyes flick over her shoulder and frowned. “No,” Pyter said. “No one attacked her. She is my daughter and anyone who did would answer to the whole family. She is ours,”
What a strange way of speaking they have. “Well it’s not a bite and I know of nothing in any forest that could cause this. Not to mention you are a Walker are you not? Everyone says Walkers can move through forests and mountains without fear.” Alice placed the blood soaked bandage down on the ground and checked her work.
The young woman opened her mouth to speak but it was the father who spoke, quickly cutting her off. “Without fear yes, without danger is another matter. My daughter went where she was not supposed to be. She should have known better and now pays the price.” Alice could almost feel Sasha’s father stare over her shoulder, flinty and hard as he uttered: “I hope she has learned her lesson now.”
Their eyes met and shaking her head Alice whispered loudly, “If you are anything like me, the only thing you will have leaned is not to be caught again. Am I right?”
The young Walker woman smiled wanly and on impulse, Alice reached over and squeezed the young woman’s good arm silently. Taking a needle and thread from the satchel she began squeezing the wound together. “Talk to me Sasha; take your m
ind of this. Now we all know it wasn’t a dog bite, where were you exploring to get into this state? What really happened?”
“I was exploring the deep forest.” Then she threw her head back, her face going red as Alice pushed the needle through the skin of the arm. Gasping she whispered, “I had wanted to visit your village but I was explicitly told not to, so I went elsewhere.”
Alice worked quickly sewing the edges of the wound together. “Well, you haven’t missed much. We are a village like many others. Dull, boring and nothing special. I can’t for the life of me guess why you wanted to see it.”
Bending her head Alice used her teeth to cut the thread. As she did she heard Sasha whisper, “I had a friend there once.” The words were said so softly, so quietly that only she could hear them and her mind whirled.
Lifting her head she saw only pain in the face of the Walker woman. Did I imagine it? Making sure the stitches were tight Alice took a stone bowl from the leather satchel and began to pull out packets of herbs. “I’ll mix something to fight infection and something to help with the pain. Maybe add in something to speed the healing process.” With a bundle of six herbs in the bowl, she took a stone basher and began to mash them.
Adding a little water to the mash she smoothed it down to a paste and then scooped it up with her fingers. “Sasha,” she looked at the woman. “I’m not going to lie, this is going to hurt. I’ve sewn your wound together but your flesh is going to be bruised and any pressure will hurt for a moment.” She watched as the young woman took a deep breath and then she reached over smoothing the green paste over the wound to loud gasps from her patient.
Then she took bandage strips from the water and wrung the warm water from them until they were damp. Carefully she wrapped one around the green smeared wound before with grimace she pulled it tight. Sasha hissed in pain, her nerves on fire an Alice continued to wrap the arm using the wet bandages. Tying them tightly she then sat back on her haunches. “All done for today. The wound is cleaned and sewn up. The herbs should help heal any disease but I will come back and check on it. Make sure there are no signs of infection.”
Leaning over she squeezed the young woman’s shoulder and felt her gaze upon her. “Get some rest and I will see you again soon.”
Standing she saw Pyter watching her. “You have your father’s skill. Come sit with me by the fire. I would talk.” The woman’s father turned, walking towards the fire and Alice began to gather her things. As she did she saw the young woman’s eyes upon her once more, green like the leaves of the tree and she felt her heart hammer against her chest.
“Well Sasha, it is nice to meet you. I will be back tomorrow to check upon your wound.” With that Alice took hold of her satchel and turned to go to Pyter’s small fire.
“Come sit,” the father already sat by the fire and as Alice sat opposite him he looked over to his daughter and smiled sadly. “You must forgive my daughter. She is the only child of our family, the youngest member here and she has always felt somewhat of an outsider. So she takes to wandering wherever we camp.” Then his eyes found hers and she saw the steel within them. He was used to giving orders and having them obeyed she saw in an instant but when he smiled, she could see it was genuine.
“How is your father? I only met him once, some years ago but even then I saw he was a man much like I am willing to take the hard choices if it means the best for his family. Are you his apprentice then? Somehow I cannot see you being a healer to some small village.”
She shook her head and sighed. “He wants me to travel and see the world for what it is but how can I do that whilst he stays here?” She accepted a cup gratefully from one of the Walkers and sipped it. The herbs within the hot water were bitter, yet held an underlying sweetness that could only be honey and cradling the cup in both hands she asked back, “You met him? He said that he came to the Walkers once when searching for a cure for my mother. I did not know it was your family he spoke to.”
“In some ways, your father is a remarkable man. He came to us fearlessly that night, asking for nothing but the cure and offering everything he had in return. He did not heed the tales of people or if he did, they did not matter when weighed against your mother’s life. He knew we Walkers travel everywhere and thought that perhaps we would know of a cure. Unfortunately, we do not have much need for healers and so we did not have that knowledge.”
“To not need healers, do you not suffer illness then? I would have thought a life of wandering would be a tough one at times.”
“Most of the tie we heal quickly.” He stared at her before smiling. “I do know he loved your mother very much, just as he must love you very much.” The Walker tribe’s leader nodded over to his daughter who watched them keenly. “You have seen almost twenty summers? That he has not arranged your marriage marks him as a father much like me. We wait to see who your hearts will choose.”
Reaching into a bag by his side he pulled out a book and holding it for a moment he then passed it to her. “Give this to your father. Tell him it is a present from one who holds him in high regard. I only regret I could not come back here sooner.”
With a questioning glance, she took the book. It was large, bound in leather and the pages were of thick parchment. Cracking it open she saw descriptions of plants she had never seen, notes for remedies for maladies that made no sense to her and frowning she closed the book. “I will do sir.”
“I can see from your expression that you do not like mysteries. I offered to join your mother and father to our family. Would that they had done so, you would have made a fine Walker.” He got to his feet and called out, “Markus, when she is finished take her back to her village and escort her here whenever she needs. She is to be given safety in the forest whilst we are here.” With that he turned and left, walking towards his daughter to sit by her.
“Miss” The man who stood by her was tall and rangy like many of the Walkers. He was young and unlike other Walkers, he wore a long dagger that looked sharp enough to be used without hesitation. “It will be dark soon and we should get you back home before then. This forest has become unsettled at night.”
She nodded and made to stand. As she did she saw that flash of silver against the darkness of Sasha’s hair and could not stop staring at it. Memories forced their way through her head and she nodded to herself. Yes, there is a mystery here and I will find out what it is. Turning she followed the young man into the forest once more and started the long walk home.
Chapter 7
“Papa,” Alice pushed at the back door to the cabin she shared with her father and stepped inside. The walk back had taken half the time as her guide had taken her through the forest, ignoring the paths and tracks in favor of his own knowledge. Squeezing through the hole in the wooden wall she had quickly walked back to the cabin as the sun began to sink in the sky. Now she was glad to be home.
She heard the splash of water and walked through the back storeroom into the main space and saw her father bent over the washbasin. His hands moved slowly and she stared as they shook. Placing her satchel upon the table Alice quietly walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Papa,” she whispered worriedly.
He turned, water drying on his face and she saw the bruise upon his face. Blossoming on his cheek like the plants he used to cure people it was red now but would she knew soon turn to a deep purple and yellow. “Papa?” she asked again as her hand reached up to touch it but he jerked away waving her ministrations away.
“Do not worry daughter. It looks worse than it is and it is not the first time in my life I have suffered such wounds.” He smiled wanly “It will pass.”
“Who did this? Was it Terrel or one of the villagers who came to be healed?” She looked at the bruise once more, her face red. “Who would dare? We should make a complaint to the village guard. This cannot stand.” Already her mind was making healer trained judgments that she could not stop. “Do you want me to make something for it?”
Her father shook his head. �
��I will tend to it later. This,“ he pointed to his cheek “was not Terrel. It was his son, Aiden. I think the headman was as shocked as I was.”
Taking a cloth he dried his face and sighed. “Aiden has always been wild. Now that Terrel is getting older Aiden thinks he should take over the position of the headman of the village now. He is an impatient lout who thinks his position will give him the power he craves.” Touching the bruise he winced “He demanded I tell him where you were and when I said you had gone into the forest to gather herbs for me he lost his temper and shouted that I had let you go off to the Walkers and then he did this.”
Shaking his head he frowned, “I warned them both if they ever touched me or mine again we would leave, go to the capital and take ship telling everyone along the way about this village. They know you are my only tie here and they also know you would come with me. The son is a self-important braggart but he is not stupid. He knows if the village loses their healer it will soon start to wither and he does not want to inherit a position of leader to a dying village.”
Walking slowly to the table Georg sat down and looked at his daughter. “So that was my morning. I have been tending the bruise since. I suspect, judging by your look, that it is beginning to blossom is it not? Well, it will take more than a punch to stop me doing what is right. But tell me though of your visit. What was the problem? How are they generally? Tell me about the Walkers as seen through your eyes.”
“The ones I saw seem well. In fact, apart from my patient, I would say they are extremely healthy. I would have thought for a people who spend all their time outdoors in the wilds they would have some signs but there were no animal attacks, no illnesses and no disfigurements at all as far as I could see.” Coming to sit by her father she smiled, “You told me you went to see them but I did not realize it was this particular family. You loved mother that much you would risk the Walkers for her?”
Wolf Heart: Moon Born book 1 Page 4
